André 3000 has now cleared the air around his Grammy-nominated album New Blue Sun concerning its contract with Epic Records. Contrary to most reports, the project counts toward fulfilling his contract with the label.
The misunderstanding arose from a past interview with journalist Toure, where André suggested that the label would not count New Blue Sun toward his solo record deal. In the conversation, he shared: “They congratulated me on the process; they congratulated me on what the work was, but contractually it’s very interesting. My label will not count this album against my contract – this is as a solo artist.”
Although that interview was brought again to light last month, it was initially aired in November 2023. The episode notes clearly explain the earlier release date.
In the latest talk with Rolling Stone, André gave an update that Epic Records has had a change of heart. “There’s a story going around that my record company is not counting New Blue Sun against my contract, and that is not true,” he explained to writer Andre Gee.
“At first, they didn’t, so that was true, because of the contractual reason that it’s not 90% like [my] last album. But after I played New Blue Sun for the label and [they] saw that it was a real project, they thankfully counted it… [T]he story that’s going around now is very old.”
Now that the dust has settled, New Blue Sun stands officially as part of André 3000’s artistic and contractual legacy.